Looks are no Defense Against Digitization

H&M no longer uses human models to generate the images it uses for its online catalogs. According to a spokesperson, “This is done for all garments, not just underwear. It applies to both women’s and men’s clothing.”

I doubt that virtual models will engender unrealistic body images any more than current real-world ones do, especially after pictures of models been photoshopped to the point that they have only tenuous links with actual human anatomy.

But I do think this will reduce employment opportunities for human models. Image manipulation software is now good enough to start putting catalog models out of a job.